We have around £2500 to share with local community groups which are volunteer-led and based within the Kirkbymoorside area.
Each year our volunteers save tonnes of fruit, mostly apples, from going to waste by juicing them and selling the pasteurised juice and cider that we make. Last year (2024) was not a good apple harvest but despite this we did make enough profits to share with our local community.
All local community groups are welcome to ask for a donation of up to £600 towards a specific purchase intended for the benefit of the members of their group.
This has been a very busy year with a massive apple crop. Thank you to everyone who has donated apples but we have now reached our limit, by the end of October we will have juiced about 5 tons of apples. We have several barrels of cider in production for the Kirkbymoorside music festival next August and our apple juice is on sale at Moorside Stores.
The Kirkby Fruit Project are supporting the Kirkbymoorside ‘Gateway to the Moors’ Music Festival 2026 by producing, free of charge, a limited edition festival Cider – a medium sweet ‘Festival Gold’ and and a dry ‘Gateway to the Moors’ cider to sell exclusively at next year’s festival. The festival is organised and run entirely by local volunteers and the cider will be sold to help them to raise the funds they need to continue.
If you would like to give all or some of your apples to the festival cider, please says so when booking in or delivering your apples: we can take more than the normal 80kg per person if the additional fruit is being donated to festival cider production.
PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE A SMALL LOCAL VOLUNTEER JUICING PROJECT SO WE ONLY HAVE CAPACITY TO ACCEPT APPLES FROM HOUSEHOLDS WITHIN KIRKBYMOORSIDE AND ASSOCIATED VILLAGES (A 7 MILE RADIUS OF THE TOWN)
Our 2025 juicing season will begin on 1st September and run through till the end of October. We have made some changes this year to try to ensure that we have space for all the local people who want to bring apples so check the details in our Juicing service section. The best tasting juice comes from a mix of both cooking and eating apples so we are happy to take mixed bags provided that all apples are clean and dry. The minimum size of apple that we are able to juice has a diameter of 5cm (2 inches, about the size of a billiard ball) because below this size the proportion of skin and core to flesh is so high that it affects the quality of the juice.
Please check that your apples are ripe by cutting one open and looking at the pips. In a ripe apple, that is ready for juicing, the pips will be very dark brown or black and loose. Under ripe apples do not make good juice
The dates below are for delivering your apples to us. Apples will be juiced the following day. We have a limited number of places for each juicing day so please email kirkbyfruit@gmail.com with your name and address to book your slot and receive instructions for delivery times. It is helpful if you can give an estimate of the quantity of apples you are bringing (maximum 80kg per household). Please do not bring apples outside these times as we may not be able to use them. Thank you.
SEPTEMBER DATES FOR APPLE DELIVERIES
UPDATE: due to an increase in the cost of bottles our prices will have to rise by 25p from late September.
Tuesday 2nd September – FULLY BOOKED
Wednesday 10th September – FULLY BOOKED
Tuesday 16th September – FULLY BOOKED
Wednesday 24th September – FULLY BOOKED
Tuesday 30th September – FULLY BOOKED
OCTOBER DATES FOR APPLE DELIVERIES
Tuesday 7th October – FULLY BOOKED
Thursday 16th October – FULLY BOOKED
Wednesday 22nd October – CURRENTLY CLOSED TO FURTHER BOOKINGS
Tuesday 28th October – CURRENTLY CLOSED TO FURTHER BOOKINGS
the 2023 juicing season has now finished, thank you to everyone who has been involved. It was quite a poor apple crop this year but we have still juiced just under 2 tons of unwanted apples since the beginning of September. Our apple juice and cider are available only in Kirkbymoorside from Kirkby News and Moorside Stores
Our 2023 juicing season will begin on 1st September and run through till the end of October. We have made some changes this year to try to ensure that we have space for all the local people who want to bring apples so check the details in our Juicing service section. This year there are a lot of very small apples that haven’t developed properly. The minimum size of apple that we are able to juice has a diameter of 5cm (2 inches) because below this size the proportion of skin and core to flesh is so high that it affects the quality of the juice.
The dates below are the DATES FOR DELIVERING APPLES TO US, the apples will be juiced the following day. We have a limited number of places for each juicing day so please email kirkbyfruit@gmail.com to book your slot and receive instructions for delivery times. Thank you.
We have completed the 2023 allocation of funds to local community groups. The next oportunity for funding requests will be towards the end of 2024. This year funds were given to Kirkbymoorside junior football club, Kirkbymoorside town training band and the Kirkbymoorside library games cafe.
Our apple juice and verjus is still available to buy from Moorside Stores. Kirkby News sell our apple juice and Kirkbymoor Cider.
We will be at the Kirkbymoorside Christmas Market on 26th November serving cups of warm spiced apple juice and mulled cider along with a selection of our bottled juice, cider and cider vinegar all at special market prices.
We will also have a limited number of bottles of spiced apple cup and mulled cider for sale for you to enjoy at home over the Christmas period. If you want to be certain of getting them before they run out then email us on kirkbyfruit@gmail.com to reserve yours for collection from the stall on Saturday.
ALL OF OUR JUICING SLOTS ARE NOW FULLY BOOKED FOR THIS SEASON WHICH MEANS THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO ACCEPT ANY MORE APPLES APART FROM THOSE ALREADY BOOKED IN.
kirkby fruit project 